barbeque

Why the Carolina BBQ Festival Could be a Game Changer for #CLTBBQ

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This May at Camp North End in Charlotte, Lewis Donald of Sweet Lew’s BBQ will be having a celebration of pork barbecue (or, just “barbecue” for those of us from NC) and we’re all invited. In addition to a fun looking event, this year’s inaugural Carolina BBQ Festival also has a chance to help put Charlotte on the barbecue map. It will be the first barbecue festival in Charlotte for quite a few years, it will bring together some of the best pitmasters in the southeast, and it will also spotlight the still growing Charlotte barbecue scene.

It’s been almost 8 years since Charlotte hosted a true barbecue festival. Part barbecue-competition, part street festival, the Q City Championship ran for a few years in uptown Charlotte during the fall and was initially sanctioned by the Memphis Barbecue Network before switching over to the short-lived NC BBQ Association for its last iteration in 2014. It closed off the streets of uptown Charlotte for competition teams to waft smoke all over uptown but since you couldn’t taste the teams’ barbecue it didn’t feel dissimilar to the annual Taste of Charlotte or Speed Street festivals.

Looking down South Tryon Street during the Q City Championship in 2014

The Carolina BBQ Festival, on the other hand, looks to be a whole different animal. First off, its focus is strictly on pork instead of the multiple proteins needed for a competition turn-in box. Patrons will be able to enjoy beer, wine, and cocktails with a background of funk, soul, and bluegrass but the focus of the festival will be celebrating the different styles of barbecue throughout the Carolinas – East, South, and West (or Piedmont or Lexington-style).

Not to mention the proceeds from the festival will go to three charities: the Piedmont Culinary Guild, Operation BBQ Relief, and World Central Kitchen.

Charlotte has hosted some great pitmasters over the years in infrequent, one-off events – Sam Jones at Midwood Smokehouse and the Free Range Pig Pickin’ and Ed Mitchell at Midwood Smokehouse come to mind – but the Carolina BBQ Festival is bringing together 6 acclaimed pitmasters with roots in North and South Carolina.

Charlotte-raised Bryan Furman of B’s Cracklin’ Barbecue and Tay Nelson of Bobby’s BBQ will represent the Palmetto state, smoking a whole hog and dressing it with a mustard-based sauce. Bryan Furman is looking for his next opportunity in Atlanta after the unfortunate burning down of his second restaurant some years ago but has been recently doing pop-ups in the Atlanta area. Tay Nelson has found success in Fountain Inn, SC (just outside of Greenville) after he famously opened up Bobby’s BBQ after doing extensive research on YouTube.

Nathan Monk, third generation owner of Lexington Barbecue, and Elliot Moss of Buxton Hall Barbecue in Asheville will represent the West, cooking Piedmont or Lexington-style shoulders. Loyal readers know this blog’s thoughts on Lexington Barbecue, and it will be fascinating to see Moss’ influence on Lexington-style barbecue where his focus has primarily been Pee Dee-style whole hog and brisket at his restaurant in Asheville.

Matthew Register of the fantastic Southern Smoke and Brandon Shepard of Shepard Barbecue in Emerald Isle will handle the eastern NC vinegar-pepper duties. I was a big fan of Southern Smoke when I visited in Summer 2020 and hope to be able to catch up with Matthew again while he’s in town. I haven’t yet had the chance to try Shepard Barbecue but between this and the Pinehurst Barbecue Festival, he’s got a busy summer coming up.

And Ronald Simmons of Master Blend Family Farms in Kenansville, NC will be providing all hogs and pork for the festival. He himself has been getting into barbecue after being a recipient of the Kingsford “Preserve the Pit” Fellowship in 2021.

Charlotte may not have experienced the same barbecue boom that Raleigh did (even if the ended up being to a lesser degree than expected due to the pandemic), but in Sweet Lew’s BBQ and Jon G’s Barbecue we have two places to be proud of when it comes to #cltbbq. Lewis and Garren and Kelly Kirkman won’t be cooking for the main festival; instead they are cooking for a VIP brunch the morning of the festival. While they’ve each gotten great media coverage up to this point, this event will surely open them up to new and different circles of influence in the southeastern food and barbecue scene.

Then there’s the fact of Charlotte hosting such an event in the first place. While anyone who pays attention to barbecue may not bat an eye at such a celebration of barbecue, it reminds me of something more along the lines of an event at the Charleston Wine + Food Festival or any number of similar events in Texas like the Texas Monthly BBQ Festival. These type of events don’t seem to happen in Charlotte. Not to get ahead of myself, but let’s hope this festival becomes a mainstay of the Charlotte food scene for years to come.

The inaugural Carolina BBQ Festival has a chance to put Charlotte barbecue on the map through its first-of-its-kind festival for Charlotte, its collection of talented pitmasters from the southeast, and its spotlight of the current Charlotte barbecue scene. The slogan of the festival is ‘Divided By Sauce, United By Coals’ and in that spirit I hope Charlotte shows out in unity for what is sure to be a fantastic afternoon of barbecue. I hope to see you there.

The Carolina Barbecue Festival takes place Sunday, May 21st from 12-4 at Camp North End in Charlotte. More information and tickets available on their website.

Friday Find: Scotty Barvir of Scotty’s Whole Hog Barbecue on the Eat More Barbecue Podcast

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Monk: Scotty Barvir joints the Canadian barbecue podcast for an in-depth interview to discuss his love for barbecue, barbecue road trips, and his business Scotty’s Whole Hog Barbecue in Northfield, Minnesota. Scotty’s family roots are in the Burlington/Graham area of the piedmont of North Carolina, and while he has since expanded his business to cook brisket, ribs, and sausage, his first love was North Carolina whole hog smoked directly over wood coals. Great conversation.

Description: Scott Barvir from Scotty’s Whole Hog Barbecue in Minnesota is my guest this week. Memories of childhood trips to North Carolina inspired Scott to bring whole hog barbecue to his local community You can get more information about his special events and residency at Loon Liquors Distillery in Northfield, MN on the web at http://www.scottyswholehogbbq.com. You can also follow them on Facebook & Instagram @scottyswholehogbbq

Linkdown: 3/23/22

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Bringle’s Smoking Oasis – Nashville, TN

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Name: Bringle’s Smoking Oasis
Date: 2/19/22 and 3/5/22
Address: 4901 Centennial Blvd, Nashville, TN 37209
Order: Beef rib, smoked turkey, beef brisket, pork ribs, collard greens (link to menu)
Pricing: $$$

Speedy: As you dear readers know, Peg Leg Porker has been one of my favorite Nashville joints since I moved here in 2017. The ribs and wings are both some of the best you’ll find in Tennessee, but the menu limits itself to Tennessee style barbecue – basically all pork and chicken. So when owner Carey Bringle announced he was opening a Texas-style barbecue joint, well I was interested. Bringle’s Smoking Oasis opened in December 2021, but I had not had a chance to go try it until a friend visiting gave me the perfect excuse to head over for a Saturday lunch.

First things first – the space is awesome. Bringle’s Smoking Oasis is right in the heart of the Nations – an up-and-coming neighborhood in Nashville – as is walking distance to several breweries and other restaurants. For anyone planning a visit to Nashville, this is a popular Airbnb location, with lots of new “tall/skinny” houses popping up, and several condo complexes. In addition to being in a nice neighborhood, Bringle’s Smoking Oasis has a huge outdoor area with a large bar section. In the summertime, this will be the perfect spot to enjoy an outdoor beverage or two. The inside is small but functional – a cafeteria-style line and around a dozen four-person tables.

The cafeteria-style line works a little backwards, as you first grab dessert (I opted for apple pie), then hot sides, cold sides, and ended with the meat. I was initially planning to order some the brisket, but as I got to the meat station, I saw one lonely beef rib just calling my name. Usually reserved as a Sunday special, I was told that they had a couple extra beef ribs this week and made some for Saturday as well, and there was only one left. So of course, I had to go for it, along with a bit of turkey. Friend of the blog Nate ordered pulled pork, brisket, and pastrami (on recommendation from the slicer), so I knew I’d get to try most of the meats. One small complaint here – as someone who has been to a fair share of ‘cue joints in Texas, the line, in comparison, moved very slow, with the meat station generally slowing things up. Meat slicers in Texas are artists, and move with both grace and quickness. I’m hopeful this process will speed up in the future at the Smoking Oasis, but there was a bit of a backlog at times.

All that said, we were through the line and it was time to eat. I don’t want to bury the lede, so I’ll just say the beef rib was my favorite part of the meal. The cook on the rib was perfect – it was incredibly tender pulling right off the bone, and there was just the right amount of bark outside. There could potentially have been a little bit more seasoning (I’m a pepper fiend), but that’s nit picking. I’m glad I ordered the rib, though in reality it’s probably best to be shared with 3-4 people (the rib weighed in at 1.8 pounds, bone included). My turkey was also very flavorful with great smoke. It was just a tad dry, but I also got the end of the breast, so a cut off a freshly unwrapped cut would likely solve this. The flavor was great and I will be ordering this meat again.

As for the brisket and pastrami, I really feel like I didn’t get enough to judge, so I ended up taking a solo trip back two weeks later for another go. This time I went with brisket and pork ribs. The brisket ended up being better than I remembered, with good flavor and moistness; however, it was not as tender as the top briskets I’ve had and couple probably use a little more bark. Still, a fine effort and a meat I would order again. I expected the ribs to be exactly like the ones at peg leg porker, but they were instead also cooked Texas style. The flavor was excellent, and the meat was tender, so no complaints. Based on memory, I would give a slight nod to Peg Leg ribs because of the rub, but I plan to side by side them in the future. 

Overall, I can’t recommend Bringles Smoking Oasis enough, especially on a nice day where the outdoor space can be utilized. I had high expectations going in, but they were all exceeded and Bringles will be my go to spot to bring visitors and vaults to the top of the Nashville rankings.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 5 hogs
Beef rib – 4.5 hogs
Brisket – 4.5 hogs
Turkey – 4 hogs
Pork ribs – 4.5 hogs
Sides – 4 hogs
Overall – 4.5 hogs